The only place to be

To your first point, I've never heard anyone call it that. It just sounds weird, but it's up to you. Why not simply call it the Bridge like every other fan (it's actually 2 letters shorter)? As to the larger point about Lukaku, I was simply offering my opinion. Like I said, I apologise if you're being sincere. The point that gets overlooked regarding him and other players (like Lampard) is that the new manager (fingers crossed) has to have a say in what he does next season. West Brom might be a great place for him but if the new guy fancies using him next year then that's even better. A lot depends on Ba though, who I've only ever really thought of as a short-term solution. If he continues playing well then maybe he stays. Ultimately there's four months left of this season and a lot of things are still up in the air. All he has to focus on is his next game for West Brom.

Good Googling skills there, completely missing the point but okay. My point was that no-one calls the Bridge 'Stamford'. But if you think that confusion over the use of Stamford Bridge on this forum is something real then I apologise. Maybe I should stop referring to it as the Bridge in case people think I'm talking about Prince Albert or the Golden Gate.

Because everything I've read and heard about him makes him sound like the best choice for us going forward. It's one thing to have a good squad, but getting them playing good football and working hard is another thing, plus he's a great tactician in my opinion. Look at the Champions League Final against United where he completely outwitted Ferguson. He's not perfect by any means but I like his view on football and on life in general. Plus I've said this before, but I think he's one of the few managers out there that Roman would give enough time to. The other guy I'd personally like is Klopp but I can't see him coming here any time soon. I think what the poll shows is people like what's familiar and are prepared to ignore Mourinho's last days at the Bridge, the fact he doesn't work well with Roman, that he doesn't want to work under a DoF, that some of his behaviour has been pathetic (gouging a guy's eye is what cunts do I'm afraid) and that his Madrid team (with the second best player in the world and millions of pounds worth of talent) are languishing in 3rd place behind their neighbours. Plus there's the old sporting (and shagging) adage of 'never go back'.

I've been saying this about FFP for a while now. It's basically designed to protect those clubs who have big existing revenue streams from the competition of a club who receives outside investment DESPITE these big clubs like United having received massive investment decades ago. It's massively unfair all round and designed to create a closed shop at the top of the game. I don't particularly like Samuel but I'm glad he's broken this story.

Does anyone else get the feeling there's a few posters in this thread who can't wait to say 'I told you so' about Sturridge. I get the feeling they'd be delighted if he scored a couple of goals against us in the next league game.

First off, I'm starting to wonder whether you are a Chelsea fan or simply someone trying to stir up shit. Apologies if you're sincere (also, it's Stamford Bridge - Stamford is a place in Lincolnshire I think). As for Lukaku, the kid got mightily fucked around last year but he still wants to play for the club. His attitude is fine - he needs to focus on what he's doing for West Brom rather than distracting himself with the soap opera at the Bridge. We bought him because he's one of the best young strikers in world football, something is going some way to showing at West Brom. He'll need to sort out next season as soon as possible so that he knows what he'll be doing in pre-season. Personally I'd want every player on loan to get together and be assessed by our new manager (hopefully) and go from there.

The one thing I've learnt about Chelsea fans is there's very rarely 'one side' to things.

With regards AVB, they didn't sack him because the fans didn't like him. If that was the case, Rafa would be gone. The problem with AVB is he lost the staff's respect and he became a joke figure. I thought it was out of order to boo Bruce Buck because he's a proper Chelsea fan, but it's part of the pantomime of the whole thing. It's like politicians getting booed at the Olympics. Getting back on track, if his contract wasn't ending I think he'd still be here next season but it's coming to an end so there's a sense this is the natural time for it to end. For me it simply comes down to what he offers the club next season and whether there are better options out there. I thought he had a great game yesterday after a dodgy first 30, and I will miss seeing him on the pitch. But I don't think we'll be any worse off as a team without him - ultimately that's what it comes down to for me. It's not all about his age either, as I'd love for Ashley Cole to be given an extension to his contract because he's quite simply the best in the world at what he does. There's no-one else I'd want at that position. But purely from a tactical point of view, there are a number of players I'd love to have ahead of Lamps in that DLP position, e.g. Alonso, Wilshere, Modric, Schweinsteiger, Pirlo, maybe Gundogan and I'd like to see Oscar, KDB and Josh given a chance there.

Blimey.....fair play to Mike Dean. No-one seemed to see that except him, but it looked like a nailed-on penalty.

Would prefer City win the title so looking for them to win today. Finishing second or third doesn't bother me - the higher we finish the bigger the chance Benitez gets kept on.

Yes that's right. No-one will say he isn't a good player. They just don't think he (and his attitude in particular) is right for us.

Yes, that's exactly what I said. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: I don't think Sturridge was good enough, ergo Torres is. I don't like the taste of aniseed ergo I like the works of Dan Brown. #blindinglogicson

So you mean when Liverpool came to us and said we'd like a striker, we should have sold them Torres instead of Sturridge. Buck and Gourlay.

Good for him. Demba Ba got two on his debut. I don't hate him, I simply don't think he was good enough for us and now he's gone I'd prefer to focus on supporting this club rather than looking forward to him succeeding to prove us wrong.

Scored a tap-in, missed a great opportunity to equalise and then should've passed instead of shooting from a tight angle. Never change Danny, never change.

You don't need to be sarcastic to express that.

They sacked AVB when they did - changed the season. I missed the booing of Buck, but that's inevitable at times like this. You call him an arse-licker but I think he's a decent, intelligent bloke who properly supports this club. The youth team may be window dressing to you, but I enjoy going to watch them play. Anyone who thinks the likes of Chalobah or Feruz are 'window dressing' and not an important part of this club's future are just wrong in my opinion. I was shocked when we sacked Mourinho and I thought Avram Grant's appointment was a bad joke. I even remember booing his decisions against Arsenal at home - before we won 2-1. I'll be honest, when I was in Moscow watching us come within an inch of winning the CL, I didn't care what Buck said. And yes, someone in this very thread accused me of being a paedophile because I'm a fan of Josh McEachran and Chalobah playing midfield for Chelsea Football Club.

Because AVB's position became untenable. He became a joke amongst the playing staff, but also amongst some of the coaching and office staff. I pay their wages too. Do you not think the Champions League was an achievement? Fair enough. What about the Youth team's successes which have been great to watch? What about the signings of some of the world's most promising youngsters? What about actually making a profit in the first FFP monitoring period? What about the commercial deals done by Gourlay? I'd be more interested to hear what you think they've done so wrong, who you think should take the blame for each and who you'd hire to replace them. I want consistency in the managerial position as much as anyone, but they simply haven't done the job (except Mourinho arguably). Sacking Scolari, Ancelotti, AVB and RDM were all arguably the right decisions (two sackings led to Champions League Finals, one of which we won after being 3-1 against Napoli). You need the right guy to be able to stick with him and it's hard to get right. I don't. I disagree with things I find disagreeable. You'll note I've kept it civil despite being called a child rapist - something you don't seem to have a problem with. As for my positions, I was prepared to give Rafa time as interim manager, I've said I think it's the best thing for Chelsea if Lampard goes now and I think the board haven't been the cunts other people suggest. I've had many great chats with lots of great fans over my many years of going to Chelsea an away matches. I'll be quite honest - this place doesn't reflect that experience by and large. Maybe it's the anonymity of the internet or it's a different type of fan, but I've never seen so many people throw this club under the bus if we go 1-0 down away to Everton or make a move in the transfer market.

In Madrid, is it also okay to finish behind Athletico? Was he playing mind games in his last season at Chelsea, because it's very reminiscent of what's going on at Real Madrid to be honest. I'm 100% positive you're wrong.

An immature billionaire?? Do you know many self-made billionaires who act immaturely? Yes it's a fun thing to own, but it's also a business which is why he's made attempts to reduce the wage bill, buy youngsters who have long-term value and expand the Bridge or move us elsewhere. He wants a long-term manager, which is why he went for AVB. I've defended the job they've done, which is actually not that hard to do when you look at what they've done. You criticise 'the board' because it's easy, not because you have a single clue what each person on the board actually does. Again, you haven't got a clue. United have a completely different structure to us because they have Fergie. They're unique in world football (except for Arsenal in some regards), but see what happens after he goes. You need a consistent presence at a club and right now the board are that for us. They're the ones with the long-term planning and since Emenalo took over as DoF, I don't think he's done a bad job. What we need is a top coach for the first-team and in-turn the academy. I agree with this. The players (Drogba, Terry and Lampard) were allowed to have far more power than they ever should have and I think that is something Roman wants to rectify. You can see the results of it last year with us achieving great success in the CL but also suffering in the league. The problem is that I think the fans are helping to reinforce the power someone like Frank has at the club and I'm not sure if that's in our best interests. You referred to Ferguson earlier - would he ever let a player attain that type of power at United?

The club is looking to change the way it does things. In 2003-2005 we bought established players to basically play catch-up to the big teams. Now with FFP, I think Roman wants us to become self-sufficient and develop our own talent. It's been 10 years since we invested heavily in the academy and we're starting to see some really exciting talent come through. You say according to media reports - I say according to The Sun. The Mail reported something differently a month ago and Marca reported something different a few days ago. I don't see Guardiola as a saviour, but as the best choice based on what we're doing in the here and now. Similarly, I don't think Lampard is the best player for that midfield position. That's all it comes down to. People like you may want to call me a troll, and others may suggest I'm a pedo obsessed with youth. The problem is I've said we should keep Ashley Cole precisely because he's the best in the world in his position. If Lampard was in the same situation, maybe I'd want him to be offered a new contract but he isn't (he was a few years ago in my view).

Came out as what? A token appointment? Think that's pretty obvious to anyone who's seen him try and offer an opinion (his sexuality doesn't particularly concern me - the only thing I'm certain he's ever tried to fuck is the English language). I think there's a narrative in the media and it appeals to middle-aged men, who want to think that 'experience' trumps youth and talent. Considering the age of pundits, that doesn't surprise me. I'm not as 'pro-Lampard leaving' to be honest. I'm simply 'anti-hysterical bleating'. I think it's the right time for him to leave because I see this summer as being a massive period of transition from what was started in 2003, to something different. This next managerial appointment will be a watershed moment in our club's history, and a legend leaving isn't actually as big a deal in my opinion. I think there are players out there who will suit next season's team better than him, and I'm not convinced his presence would be best for the club. I'm sick of it too and for most of the same reasons. I'm also sick of hearing about 'Giggs and Scholes' as if that's an argument for Lampard staying. It's one of a number of reasons I want this season over. If I'm honest, supporting Chelsea hasn't exactly been fun this year.

If that's true then we should hire him back in the summer and fire him again. Jesus.

Alan 'You'll never win anything with kids' Hansen and Alan 'I'm a totally shit manager but I've never said anything noteworthy or interesting that can be paraphrased to succinctly some up just how little I actually know about football' Shearer said that?? Until Garth Crooks offers his opinion it's impossible to know what we should do, wouldn't you say?

What the fuck has Torres got to do with it?? He's shit. Ba is our main striker in my opinion now. And yes I watched the whole game yesterday and I thought he had a good game after the first 30, but the amount of time Stoke gave us on the ball was incredible. I don't know if he's the best choice next season, and I don't know if the new manager would want him. He isn't producing week in and week out though. He was appalling against QPR and we didn't miss him in the slightest against Southampton. I love the guy (like I've said many times) but I think the summer is the perfect time for him to leave. He's coming to the end of his contract and we will hopefully have a new manager. We're moving on from one period to another and I'd prefer to see him go out when he's still the player I recognise than become a bit-part player. Have a word with yourself. I disagree with that. I've sung his name in recent weeks but that doesn't mean I want the club to offer him a new contract. In fact I've spoken to plenty of fans who aren't predicting the demise of the club when he leaves. I was never a prefect (torn up for weeks because of it) and I don't have a boss (freelancer, just can't cope with people who do suck up to bosses), but I'm fine with the decision to let him go. I'll shed a tear (like I have done many times at the Bridge, sometimes due to Frank) but the club will move on. I've also defended Buck and Emenalo because I think they've done a good job. I know it's fashionable and easy to blame the board (who hasn't partaken in that laziest of football cliches) but when I look at what we're trying to do, I can't say I'm not excited about the next decade of supporting the club. Great, reasoned post (keep up with that and you'll get your prefect's badge ). I love how this thread explodes (and I'm by no means innocent of this) as soon as the media starts with the outpourings of praise that follows a decent performance.